Do you typically bit up for xc? Or what goes into your decision making for deciding to use a different bit for xc? What would be your first choice to try after deciding a regular snaffle isn’t quite enough?
It depends on the horse and the individual. While I don’t think every horse can go XC in a snaffle, it is my goal to at least try that before escalating. Sometimes, the strong horse just needs more mileage XC and you end up only needing a bigger bit for an outing or two.
I have a horse right now that for the last four years was in an eggbutt snaffle in all three phases. He isn’t green, but he would get strong in between fences especially if it was a place he’d never been before. Schooling in our xc ring at home, I could do it in a halter… but take him somewhere new and I think the ramped up excitement just got to him. My trainer put me in a pelham with rein converters. I need only sit up and think slow down now - way less fighting on our part and much better communication both ways. I ended up only needing to use this pelham a handful of times, and now we are back to XC in a snaffle with much better stretches between the fences.
Play around and see what works - sometimes it’s just a matter of more mileage, but sometimes it’s better for the rider to not be fighting with the horse every stride.
My first choice depends on what the horse is doing. If they’re pulling you out of the tack, I might try a waterford with the same ring set up as your normal bit. If they’re getting hollow and above the bit, I might try running martingale or something with a bit of stopping power like a pelham or tom thumb – keep in mind that gags tend to make horses who go above the bit a bit worse. I don’t usually go for the gag type bits, but I do have a “wonderbit” that has rein slots that I’ve used with some good luck in the past.
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If your horse gets strong on XC and you either cannot fully control them or you spend all your energy controlling them versus paying attention to the course, then it’s time to investigate a different bit. If you cannot get them together before a fence and they are just blowing through your aids it’s a huge safety issue. I’ve always looked at it as - if you are galloping to a fence on XC and your horse is locked on, would you be able to safely and easily stop or walk? Would you be able to get a light bouncy canter before a fence? Or will your horse completely ignore your half halts because they’re excited and want to jump?
As mentioned, there’s a huge caveat here - this is assuming your horse has a solid foundation and this is not a training issue. A stronger bit may just provide short term assistance while you work on that training at home. The last thing you want to do is try to use a stronger bit to cover up holes in your training. The goal should always be to use the mildest bit possible.
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My newish youngster leans a little on my hands going xc. I think it may be in part to her 1/2 Irish Draught breeding. I did several shows in her double jointed snaffle and while I never felt “run away with”, re-balancing before some questions took more effort than I liked. She is very well-schooled on the flat and I’ve always done 3 phases in a snaffle, but this time I changed her set-up. She’s now in a double jointed Wilkie bit with a flash noseband. It allows me to be softer over the fence and we’re not having any “negotiations” out on course.
In my horse’s case all I needed to do was go to a D ring with the exact same mouthpiece that was on his loose ring. The D cheek gives a little pressure on the side of the horse’s face that a round ring doesn’t. It was all I needed to get him to listen.
Another I ride XC with the same setup I do dressage. Fat Nathe loose ring.
I was taught (in the age of dinosaurs) to want your horse to grab the bit to the fences and just work to balance myself and my horse, not to actually do much else.
Without knowing how the specific horse is going, it is tough to say what next steps would be. I would also be interested to see how the rider is carrying themselves as well. It may not be the bit.
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No. I typically ride all three phases in the same bridle. But there have been two horses that I used a different bit for cross country, at least for a few times.
What is your horse DOING that makes you think you might need a different bit? Tries to go to fast? Doesn’t steer? Lugs on the forehand? Each would have a different response.
The two that I changed bits for cross country both got heavy on the forehand, and were difficult to rebalance to prepare for the jump. One was a full TB, and the other was Anglo-Irish x French…
The TB I rode in a traditional gag, with two reins. I only used the gag rein when she did not respond to the regular snaffle. And many times I did not need to use the gag at all.
The Anglo-Irish French did not respond as needed to the traditional gag, so I rode him in a traditional (NOT jointed) Pelham, to which he responded very well. He responded very well even when I just rode on the snaffle rein (curb rein tied up), so I think I could have used a mullen mouth snaffle with the same result.
I will see if I can find a good representative video. She currently just goes in a dee oval link snaffle. I did recently add a flash and a running martingale which has helped quite a bit. I think most of it will resolve with more experience xc away from home. We are still doing sub BN stuff so there’s time to let it play out. Mostly just some head flipping/snatchiness when she just isn’t interested in a half halt.
How are you doing the half halt? Do you know how to do “the X”?
I had a coach that had my horse going cross in a pelham, then the 3 ring bit, then this hackamore/nathe contraption that looked like Hannibal on him.
Then I moved to another coach, she schooled him in an eggbutt with lozenge and now he goes all 3 phases in that bit for the last 5 years. Sometimes its not the bit, its just the wrong guidance.
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Well said.
My current girl goes all three in a NS Turtle top.
I try and keep it the same as much as possible, only had one horse that needed more bitting and like LadyB said it was more the lack of knowledge and skill that had us there hahah
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What is the X?
For me, I often find young horses will need a slightly stronger bit after their first outing or two. It’s because at first they are so overwhelmed with everything new, but then they get kind of cocky, “we’re going XC, I know what I’m doing, and I get to run, wheeeee” and don’t listen as well.
Of course it depends on the horse but I’ve had good success with a cherry roller snaffle and a slow twist.
On the other end of the spectrum, a schoolmaster TB who was a saint at home in his snaffle needed a Kimberwick at shows. Found that out the hard way at our first event as I sailed past the TD out of control towards the stabling…
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I agree with this, as I had a similar situation (had started in a snaffle but kept bitting up more and more). After I switched coaches and changed how I rode the horse, I was gradually able to back down to a double jointed D-ring snaffle. I don’t think the previous coach was “wrong” per say, their methods just didn’t work well for that particular horse.
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BTDT! 
We had a show over the summer that was at the place where we truck in for conditioning work and canter sets. I usually stick to the same path, with the final set being a big gallop stretch up this large hill. At the show, the last XC fence was at the base of this gallop stretch path; my horse decided he knew exactly what he was doing and pulled me almost clear up the hill well past the finish flags. Apologies were made to the jump judge, I’m sure they thought something awful was about to happen – nope, just a TB who ‘knew’ his job and was ready to do it!
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Imagine a point in the horse’s trunk., where the line from your right hand to your left knee, and the line from your left hand to your right knee, intersect. When you need to slow down and rebalance your horse (“half halt”) press your hands (downward and back) towards that point, while also pressing your knees toward that point. That will rebalance your horse without encouraging it to throw its head in the air.
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One horse I rode bitted up a bit for jumping in general. She tended to get a bit nervous/anxious at shows and would pull down and get on the forehand then go “oops, can’t jump like this, guess I’ll refuse”. We went from a snaffle to a baucher and it was just enough extra - we started exploring after an elimination on XC because she kept getting on the forehand and the rain made the reins slippery so they kept slipping through my fingers (I was wearing leather gloves and also switched gloves).
I only used the bit at shows as at home and even schooling XC it wasn’t an issue and we didn’t want her to get used to the bit and start “running through it”. Baucher is not really that much more than a snaffle, just a bit of lift, so it would be easy to get used to it. Most likely, part of the issue was my show nerves but this was enough that everything worked out well.
I don’t typically bit up for XC, but my current horse flats in a double jointed D and jumps in a waterford D because when he gets going, he leans on the bit and tanks around. I bit him up because with the waterford, I can ride him softly and quietly and am comfortable moving up to the jumps and keeping my leg on with a soft hand. That makes him happier jumping, he lands in better balance, and you’d never think he needed a stronger bit than his D bit. This is all in conjunction with what my old trainer called “gallop dressage:” you need to school rideability at the gallop at home before you can expect it to be there at competitions. (Gallop dressage has nothing to do with the horse’s face being on the vertical LOL)
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Yeah, this is SUCH an individual horse/rider (and as some have noted, trainer) question. On a very big horse who I struggled to rebalance I used a wonder bit (snaffle mouth with fixed loops for the reins) - speed was never his problem, but he was 17.2 and I am not very big, and galloping down to a coffin I couldn’t always get the change in shape I wanted.
My current horse is sensitive but big and excitable. Too much bit would be absolute mayhem, and he’s actually very good about carrying an appropriate speed to his fences. But when he gets into a groove and is feeling confident, he can sort of steam off after his fences, sometimes in entirely the wrong direction (everyone who schools with me is used to us just kind of zooming off on a giant circle before we come back to the group). We use a lever noseband, rather than a big bit, and it works like a charm. No more missing fence 4 because we went right instead of left after fence 3! But we were solving a very particular problem. Interestingly, I have more need of this tool schooling than on course, where he tends to be quite rideable.
Asterix reminded me of another alternative to bitting up, depending on the horse. I had a big, leggy young TB who was very sensitive in the mouth but had frequent need of rebalancing. For him, the solution was a racing yoke: a tug would rebalance him just enough without involving his mouth. (But if you use it for that purpose, you can’t use it as an oh sh*& strap!)
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